Of Grandpas and Birthdays (Reprise)

The Good

1. Bowling tournament. Sweeps weekend for our league. Final standings for the purposes of divying up prize money was based on our performance on the final afternoon of scratch-bowling. Since my wife finished second among the women, we pulled in a pretty big haul. On top of that we did receive additional prize dollars based on team standings. Would have been better had we finished higher, but all told our winnings paid for all our gambling and about half our meals.
2. Family reunion. As I posted earlier, part of our time in Laughlin was spent with family celebrating my grandfather's 94th birthday. As I explained there, it is an event I treasure every year. Highlights? Dinner with my aunt and uncle who were first to arrive in town from Oklahoma (this gathering is about the only time I get to see them anymore); Dinner with the Grandkids (my wife and I, two of my cousins and their spouse/significant other and my grandfather and his wife); Reconnecting with one of my cousins and his wife. We had the opportunity to spend most of two days with them and was pleasantly surprised at the rapport we have as couples. Open invite to visit them at home, which incedentally is where my wife went to school; Opportunity to meet one of my other uncle's new wife.
3. Outlets rock! We dropped a cool $200 at the outlet mall across the street from "the strip" in Laughlin. Most of that was me, and for $100-$150 bucks I'm set for a while!
4. Sports book. Won a $5 wager on the alma mater. Bucked the odds, b/c they haven't been good on the road this season, but traditionally play well at Santa Clara.

The Bad

1. Hotels . As in 4 in 6 nights. We were at the Riverside for 3 nights for the bowling tournament. First time there and while it is the oldest casino/hotel in Laughlin, it is still a pleasant place and includes many additional entertainment options (Movie theater with 6 screens and a 34-lane bowling alley) that are found at none of the other hotels in town. From there it was one-night at the River Palms (Try as we might, we couldn't get an additional night at the Riverside or at the Colorado Belle where we were booked for the last two nights of our time in town). From there to two scheduled nights at the Colorado Belle; Unforeseen events led to us skipping that second night and instead spending the last of 6 nights at the Flamingo. A week of hotel beds is just too hard on my back...
2. Buffets. I'm buffet-ed out. Dinner, breakfast...day after day after day...

The Ugly

1. A cockroach in our room at the Colorado Belle. The Belle sits on the river, or more accurately on the riverbed. Roaches like water so I can understand that an occasional visitor can be expected, especially in rooms that open to the exterior of the hotel. What is inexcusable is the hotel promising a visit from housekeeping to go through the room again and not fulfilling that promise by the end of the afternoon. To their credit however, the front-desk agent who helped us check-out did everything right from a customer service perspective.